


We Who Love Him

by meridian_rose (meridianrose)



Category: The Borgias (2011)
Genre: Gen, offscreen Cesare Borgia/Lucrezia Borgia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 02:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12546440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meridianrose/pseuds/meridian_rose
Summary: After Cesare survives an assassination attempt, Lucrezia and Micheletto find common ground and a sense of purpose.





	We Who Love Him

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pasiphile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pasiphile/gifts).



Micheletto did not like leaving his post - he had almost failed Cesare once today, and it pained him to allow others to guard the sleeping cardinal. Yet he could not refuse Lucrezia Borgia.

The attack, less than two hours ago, had been swift, unexpected. The guard turning on Cesare in one sudden movement, the garrotte around Cesare’s neck, the cardinal’s immediate response saving his life. Micheletto had trained Cesare to the best of his abilities and Cesare was a fast learner. Leaning back into his attacker to ease the pressure against his throat, one hand scrabbled at the weapon but the other reached for his own blade, secreted within his robes.

Micheletto arrived a moment later to drag the wounded guard away, sparing the man’s life rather than delivering a death-blow so he could be tortured for information, or vengeance, possibly both. He then turned his attention to Cesare, who was panting heavily, and put one arm around his wounded master.

They’d made their way to his bedchamber while the physician was summoned, the Pope informed, more guards brought to belatedly watch over the cardinal. There was no permanent damage done, but the shock of the attack within these walls, how close Cesare had come to being killed, these things would leave unseen scars on them all.

Lucrezia had been almost inconsolable, her fear and anger finally spent in many bitter tears until Cesare lifted one tired hand to caress her hair and begged her, hoarsely, “Sis, please. I will recover swiftly. Let me sleep and you should do the same. Do not hurt yourself with this unnecessary grief. I am not dead.”

That had given her strength and she’d wiped at her face, pressed a kiss to his forehead, and got to her feet. She’d walked like a queen to the door and then turned, nodded to Micheletto. He’d been standing in the corner, berating himself for allowing this attack to happen and planning vengeance. Now he was drawn to the present by her edict. “Micheletto. Come.”

He followed her to the cathedral, glaring at the acolyte who glanced up from the front pew as they entered. The young man fled, leaving Micheletto and Lucrezia alone, the sacred silence calming after the panic of the attack and the immediate aftermath. The faint smell of incense hung in the air and a number of candles burned in their sconces and in the holders upon the altar.

Lucrezia stood in front of the altar and made the sign of the Cross. She did not kneel, but she bowed her head and Micheletto followed suit, out of respect for her and her privacy more than from genuine reverence.

He supposed she prayed and he remained silent, eyes downcast. It was she who broke the silence, and there was no trace of weakness in her voice.

“Do you know?” Lucrezia asked abruptly, her eyes fixing on him like an arrow pointed at his heart. “Does my brother confide in you?”

He could only guess to what she eluded. Micheletto looked away. “What Cardinal Borgia confides I keep secret. What he does not confide it is not my place to know.”

She considered this for a long moment. “And if I confide in you, will you keep my secrets?”

“Of course.” His loyalty to Cesare encompassed loyalty to Lucrezia by necessity, for Cesare’s adoration of his sister knew no bounds. To love Cesare was to love Lucrezia also.

She took several slow, deliberate steps towards him, every inch a Borgia, despite her diminutive height compared to Cesare, despite the difference between her fairness and his darker features.

“Do you know? What my brother is to me?”

She was asking if Micheletto knew or believed that the passion between the siblings did not stop at the usual boundaries but was deeper, more sensual. Micheletto did not need anyone to tell him of Cesare’s love for it was clear in every word Cesare spoke about Lucrezia, every glance he bestowed upon her, every action he took on her behalf. The way Lucrezia’s face lit up when Cesare entered a room, her unspoken devotion shown in every touch, confirmed she felt the same way. Their closeness was undeniable and they embraced frequently.

If their affection had crossed from embracing into intercourse Micheletto did not know and did not care to. What difference did it make, when Lucrezia was the light of Cesare’s life? No physical distance or physical intimacy could alter the bond they had. Their love could not be weakened nor strengthened but seemed, to Micheletto as observer, a force of nature not to be argued with but to be accepted as fact, like the heat of summer or the stars in the night sky.

“I know what you are to him,” Micheletto replied.

“Then you understand.”

Yes. He understood her pain and it added to the guilt and pain he already felt. He bobbed his head.

“You will help me?” she asked.

“My lady?” That was not something he’d expected.

Lucrezia’s brows drew together in a brief frown, the resemblance to her brother’s look of concentration unmistakable. “That man did not work alone. Someone plotted this. Some person, more likely many people, helped him come too close to murdering Cesare. They must all be punished.”

“Of course.” How could it be otherwise?

“You will help me find the culprits and exact vengeance.”

Micheletto stared fully at her then. “My lady,” he said in protest. If Cesare ever found he’d allowed Lucrezia to put herself in the slightest danger, if he thought Micheletto had let Lucrezia sully her innocence…

Yet that innocence was already gone, Micheletto realised as the woman before him held his gaze. She had been a kind and naive child but she had, through time and trauma, been shaped into a strong, beautiful, and clever woman, someone not to be underestimated.

“You have suspects in mind,” Lucrezia said, ignoring his concern.

“Yes.”

“Let us handle this,” Lucrezia said. “We who love him.”

She smiled then, a wicked smile that promised retribution. He almost pitied the perpetrators. Almost.

Micheletto bowed his head in reverence and agreement.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta-reader Tinamour!
> 
> [tumblr promo post](https://meridianrosewrites.tumblr.com/post/169462454807/meridianrose-we-who-love-him-1022-words-by)


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